📖 ReadingGrade 5Lesson 1
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Analyze Greek and Latin roots

How to use: Download the PDF to print the worksheet. Then use this page to repeat activities and check answers.

Learning Objectives

  • 1Analyze Greek and Latin roots in multi-syllable words
  • 2Combine roots with prefixes and suffixes to decode meaning
  • 3Distinguish between similar roots that share or differ in meaning
  • 4Apply root analysis to infer the meaning of unfamiliar academic vocabulary
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Mini Lesson

Most academic English vocabulary is built from Greek and Latin roots. A root carries the core meaning, while prefixes shift it and suffixes change its grammatical role. When you analyze a long word into its parts, you can often decode its meaning even if you have never seen the word before.

Greek roots — building blocks of science and ideas

  • graph (write / draw) — autograph, polygraph, seismograph, choreography
  • phon (sound) — phonics, polyphonic, cacophony, megaphone
  • bio (life) — biology, biome, antibiotic, symbiosis
  • geo (earth) — geology, geothermal, geopolitics
  • spect (look) — spectator, inspect, retrospect, perspective

Latin roots — building blocks of action and law

  • port (carry) — transport, deport, portable, rapport
  • dict (say / tell) — predict, contradict, verdict, dictate
  • rupt (break) — interrupt, erupt, disrupt, bankrupt
  • aud (hear) — audience, auditorium, audible, audition
  • scrib / script (write) — describe, transcript, manuscript, prescription
  • vid / vis (see) — video, visible, evidence, supervise
  • mit / miss (send) — transmit, dismiss, omit, admission
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When you meet a long word, peel it like an onion: take off the prefix, take off the suffix, and look at the root in the middle. The root almost always carries the central clue.

Worked example

Take the word spectator and break it into its parts.

What does spectator literally mean?

Answer:"One who looks" — root spect (look) + suffix -ator (one who).

Now try the same method on misanthrope: mis (hate) + anthrop (human) = "one who hates humans."

Anatomy of a WordAnatomy of a Word: TRANSPORTATIONtransportationprefixacrossrootcarrysuffixsuffixactionthe act of carryingsomething across
Roots Family WheelRoots Family WheelSCRIBwritedescribetranscriptmanuscriptprescribeinscribescribbleOne root, many academic words.
Vocabulary
root
The base part of a word that carries its core meaning.e.g. The Latin root "port" means carry, as in transport and portable.
prefix
A word part attached to the beginning of a root that modifies its meaning.e.g. The prefix "trans-" means across, as in transport.
suffix
A word part attached to the end of a root that often signals its part of speech.e.g. The suffix "-able" turns a verb into an adjective: portable.
morpheme
The smallest unit of language that carries meaning.e.g. "Un-", "happy", and "-ness" are three morphemes in unhappiness.
cognate
A word that shares a root or origin with a word in another language.e.g. "Familia" in Spanish is a cognate of "family" in English.
academic vocabulary
Words used frequently in textbooks and formal writing.e.g. "Hypothesis" and "analyze" are academic vocabulary.
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Guided Practice

Read the story. As you read, notice how Sofia analyzes each word into prefix + root + suffix. How does this method help you understand new vocabulary?

Mini-book

The Word Etymologist

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Cover

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Exercises

Match each Greek or Latin root to its meaning.

Use the root meaning given to complete each word.

1
A scientist who studies living things — using the root bio (life) — works in the field of logy.
2
A device that records earthquakes — using the root graph (write) — is called a seismo.
3
A handwritten document — using the root scrib/script (write) — is called a manu.
4
When two people argue against each other — using the root dict (say) — they contra one another.
5
A camera that captures moving images — using the root vid/vis (see) — records eo.
6
When a volcano violently breaks open — using the root rupt (break) — it es.
7
A signal sent from one tower to another — using the root mit/miss (send) — is transted.
8
A person watching a game — using the root spect (look) — is called a ator.

Pick the best answer.

1. In the word "biography," which two roots combine, and what does the word literally mean?

2. Which word does NOT contain the root "spect" meaning "look"?

3. A "polygraph" is a device that detects lies by recording physical signals. Using the roots, what does the word literally mean?

4. The roots "vid" and "vis" both mean "see." Which sentence uses a "vid/vis" word correctly?

5. You meet the new word "audiologist." Using roots, what is the BEST inference?

6. Which set of words ALL share the same root meaning?

7. Why is knowing roots especially useful in Grade 5 reading?

8. The word "transmission" combines which parts?

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Assessment

Parent / Teacher Checklist

Lesson 2 →